The US Department of State on Tuesday said that it would deny visas to a former EU commissioner and four others, accusing them of seeking to “coerce” US social media platforms into censoring viewpoints they oppose.
“These radical activists and weaponized NGOs [non-governmental organizations] have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states — in each case targeting American speakers and American companies,” the department said in a statement announcing the sanctions.
The measure targeted Thierry Breton, the former top tech regulator at the European Commission, who often clashed with tech tycoons over their obligations to follow EU rules.
Photo: Reuters
Breton was described by the department as the “mastermind” of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a major piece of legislation that imposes content moderation and other standards on major social media platforms operating in Europe.
French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot said on X that his country “strongly condemns” the visa restrictions, adding that Europe “cannot let the rules governing their digital space be imposed by others upon them.”
“The Digital Services Act was democratically adopted in Europe... it has absolutely no extraterritorial reach and in no way affects the United States,” Barrot said.
The DSA stipulates that major platforms must explain content-moderation decisions, provide transparency for users and ensure researchers can carry out essential work, such as understanding how much children are exposed to dangerous content.
Breton, who left the European Commission last year, on X slammed the ban as a “witch hunt,” comparing the situation to the McCarthy era in the US in the 1950s, when officials were chased out of government for alleged ties to communism.
“To our American friends: Censorship isn’t where you think it is,” he added.
The visa ban also targeted Imran Ahmed of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit that fights online hate, misinformation and disinformation that also fell in the crosshairs of Elon Musk after his takeover of Twitter, later renamed X.
Also subject to the ban were Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of HateAid, a German organization that the state department said functions as a trusted flagger for enforcing the DSA.
Clare Melford, who leads the UK-based Global Disinformation Index, rounded out the group.
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